I received the following from a reader that saw a “mutated’ coyote in his backyard in Sandwich, MA:

Tonight. In my backyard I turned on my spotlights and went on to the back deck. About twenty feet from me was a mutated coyote that stopped briefly, looked me in the eyes with his yellow eyes and trotted away.

His head was not normal, he was mutated. I’ve seen many here in Sandwich, in my yard, but this one was what nightmares are from, his head was malformed and his eyes were far apart, his head was squared not the normal shape. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve rock climbed in the Rockies and hiked the Appalachian trail and never saw a mutation like this. Have there been any mutations ,regarding coyotes on the Cape?
— Walter from Sandwich, MA

I am not sure about mutated coyotes on the Cape. I have never seen one myself, but I have heard of several people in the East Dennis area, (near the Brewster town line) seeing a very large coyote with a “boxy, squared” head. They swear it looks more like a wolf, than a coyote.

I asked a local member of the Foxpro field staff if he had ever seen anything like the reader described above and he told me that it could have been a crossbreed or some sort of dog inbred or coydog.

It has been known for several years that the coyotes in the Cape Cod area actually have much wolf DNA. Some coyotes in MA that have been tested have come up as 90% eastern wolf.

If you have seen any “weird” looking, mutated coyotes or other strange critters on Cape Cod, let me know.